Zunyi Festivals and Events

Besides some Chinese traditional festivals, like New Year's Day(January 1), Spring Festival(The first day of the first lunar month; February 5, 2019), Lantern Festival(The fifteenth day of the first lunar month), Tomb Sweeping Day(15 days after the Spring equinox; April 5, 2019), Dragon Boat Festival(The fifth day of the fifth lunar month; June 7, 2019) and Mid-Autumn Day(The fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month; September 13, 2019), there are also some ethnic festivals and activities in Zunyi. 

Caishan Festival(踩山节)

Date: February 5-19, 2019, in the 1st day to 15th day of the first lunar month. 

Caishan festival is a grand festival of the Miao people, also known as Cai Shan Ping(踩山坪), Cai Hua Shan(踩花山), etc. Flower pole is the significant symbol of the festival. On this day, Miao people wear traditional costume and perform Lusheng(芦笙表演).

New Year of Gelao People(仡佬年)

Date: April 7, 2019, in the 3rd day of the 3rd lunar month. 

Gelao minority is the oldest indigenous peoples in Guizhou. They call themselves Guizhou "native people". They have their own language, which belongs to Sino-Tibetan language family. Many people can speak Chinese, Miao language, Buyi language and so on. Their costumes are largely the same with Han and neighboring ethnic minorities. On the third day of the third lunar month is the Spring Festival for the Gelao nationality. At that time, the chicken, liquor, meat and rice are prepared to worship the mountain god or the land. After the offerings are used, they will get together to eat on the mountain or in the front of village gate.

Ox King Festival(仡佬族牛王节)

Date: In the first day of the tenth lunar month. 

The first day of the tenth lunar month is the traditional festival of Gelao proplr, "Ox King Festival". On this day, the local Gelao people will slaughter the chicken and prepare the liquor. They will light the incense and candle, set off the firecracker and worship the Ox King bodhisattva in front of cowshed door. They pray that it may bless their farm cattle to be strong and free from disease and disaster. At the same time, they will dress the cattle with red decorations.